What does it mean to connect to your true self? Better yet, to reconnect?

We took this into the tank. Float after float, allowing our minds to wonder, explore, contemplate and ponder. Sitting with our innermost thoughts so that we may ask ourselves something big. Who are we? Who am I? Who are you?

With the spirit of this in heart and mind, we caught up with ultimate floater Leigh Coward, one of our very own who is committed to his journey to reconnect. With post float vibrations high and a warm tea in hand, we asked Leigh to join us in the chillout room for some tank talk. We got to the heart of his personal trials and triumphs at Beyond Rest and found out just how important community can be when on the path to reconnection.

1. What is at the heart of Beyond Rest?

BR has manifested a highly connected community in its four years of being established. Each centre is a haven for people to connect with themselves through floating, and with others who are using floatation for similar purposes. Some use floating for it's physiological benefits, others use it to be meditative, to relax, to repair, to problem solve, to enhance creativity...whatever it may be, although, we can identify the common denominator here, floatation attracts those who are in a process of self-development. This enthusiasm is mirrored in each member of the community, because of this identification with self-development, we attract and share an enthusiasm, which spreads, and is a positive contagion within our society. The inner-network we form at each centre spreads between every centre, and because each community member carries an ethic of enthusiasm and positive drive, what often happens is, when we all meet together, so much positive creative energy is developed, that this carries through into the lives of each individual. Many of the community are entrepreneurs, artists, and athletes, all operating at a high-performance level. By surrounding ourselves around one another, we encourage each other to achieve and perform to our highest levels in each of our personal, and collective endeavours.

2. What’s the secret sauce behind the Beyond Rest team?

What works particularly well for us at BR, is we keep a fluid structure - we are not guides, we are not gurus, we are all on the self-development path together. There is an absence of hierarchy amongst the Staff members and everyone else in the community. The community doesn't really have a beginning or and end, it opens itself up to those who are enthused about floating and cultivating the self. Because of this, there is an aura of empowerment being generated at each centre, because everyone is willfully contributing to the wider community. This goes for the relationship between the Staff and the customer's too, as we love to connect with everyone about their experiences in the tank, while sharing insights, stories, techniques that can add to or refine one's time spent inside the tank.

3. As a float advocate, how has the Beyond Rest community influenced your life?

Being a part of the BR community has been instrumental in any attainment of personal growth I have had. Ultimately, I am responsible for my own growth, but when there is a community as wide and as informative and inviting as the BR community, you can imagine how easy it is to meet someone who is going through exactly what you are going through in that moment, or may have something you need - whether it be a perspective or an offering - to elevate yourself. In addition to the community, I feel the float tank is a relic for encouraging the connection with the self. To be afforded the space to do personal work in a harmonious environment such as a float tank can be a major catalyst for self-development too.

4. Tell us how the community meetings at Beyond Rest are a launch pad for mutual self-development?

Each BR centre holds regular community meetings; these meetings are extremely powerful, as they provide the opportunity to 1.) express, and 2.) receive. You can learn a lot from listening to someone else, especially someone else who is looking to develop themselves...the chances are, there will be at least a few parallels to my story, if I tune in and create space for my brothers and sisters to speak what is on their minds. Because the space is being catered to in such a harmonious fashion, it creates an awesome arena to really speak what is on your mind. It could be a creative idea, a blockage that needs shifting, whatever it may be, having the space to express yourself and simultaneously be received can be a powerful tool to develop new habits and positive manifestations.

5. Can you describe the culture at Beyond Rest in three words, and tell us why it’s one of a kind.

The culture at BR is electric, exciting, and enthusiastic. We each love and believe in the benefit of what we do. This makes it a delight to share and communicate with the wider community, as we come from a place of love and self-respect. In order to respect others, you must firstly respect yourself, I think that's imperative. Through the inner-work we each do, we carry ourselves with the positive momentum we generate through this lifestyle. To have an opportunity to spread and interact with the wider community at this time is such a privilege.

As Leigh would agree, floating isn’t just our day job or a weekend hobby, it’s a lifestyle. It’s something that brings our team and those around us together. We are community, we are family, and we are individuals with our own path and our own purpose. What makes Beyond Rest so special is the way we respect one another’s journey while nurturing our own. Connecting with each other is a way to also reconnect with our true selves.

And, it just so happens that we’re also a pretty awesome bunch of people!